STEP 1 – Collection System

Pipes Carry Sewage Downhill to the Wastewater Plant

When you flush or shower, you make wastewater. That wastewater runs through pipes, under the streets of Albuquerque. Smaller pipes from homes connect to larger pipes under the streets. We call this our wastewater stream. Every building has pipes that connect to our wastewater stream. Your home has pipes that connect. Your school has pipes that connect. Restaurants, stores, movie theaters and businesses, all of them connect.

We have about 2,400 miles of sewer pipe underground. Those pipes carry Albuquerque’s wastewater to our plant. We clean about 50 million gallons of wastewater every day.

At our plant we separate out the trash first. Then we separate out the sludge, made of poop and food. The cleaned water goes into the river. It’s very important to clean wastewater, so the people in our town can stay healthy.